Diplomatic ties between Taipei and Skopje hang by a delicate thread, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
"Despite a respite, uncertainties still plague Taiwan's relations with Macedonia," ministry spokeswoman Katharine Chang (張小月) told a news conference.
On Tuesday, Macedonian Foreign Minister Ilinka Mitreva proposed the newly formed Cabinet consider switching recognition from Taipei to Beijing, a motion that was staved off by Prime Minister Ljubco Georgievski on the grounds of procedural flaws, Chang said.
The closed-door meeting later arrived at a decision, whereby President Boris Trajkovski will consult different parties before bringing the issue up for discussion, likely in the next Cabinet meeting, Macedonian sources said.
Indicating that relations have been given only a short reprieve, the ministry dares not relent in its ongoing diplomatic tug-of-war with Beijing, Chang said.
"We are closely watching the situation in the European country as factors unfavorable to Taiwan still exist," Chang said.
Anxious to quell an internal armed uprising, Skopje is likely to cut ties with Taipei in a bid to woo support from the UN Security Council -- of which China is a permanent, veto-wielding member -- in order to secure a UN peace keeping mission for its border areas.
Peter Cheng (鄭博久), Taiwan's ambassador to Macedonia, said that the latest developments reveal Macedonian President Trajkovski's stand on Taipei-Skopje ties, but he still must overcome opposition from most members of the new Cabinet.
Like his predecessor, Traj-kovski has refused to recognize Cheng's credentials, although Skopje has received more than US$190 million in aid, loans and investment from Taiwan over the last two years.
On Monday he said Macedonia intended to follow the EU's policy on Taiwan -- ie, diplomatic ties with Beijing and trade links with Taipei. However, Taiwan has said that it will not accept any arrangement that discounts the country's dignity and integrity.
"We're hard pressed on all sides," Cheng said during an interview. "But we will not settle for anything less than full diplomatic relations." The tough line marks a departure from the pragmatic policy Taiwan has embraced to boost its international profile over the last decade.
CLOSURES: Several forest recreation areas have been closed as a precaution, while some ferry and flight services have been suspended or rescheduled A land warning for Tropical Storm Danas was issued last night at 8:30pm, as the storm’s outer bands began bringing heavy rain to southeastern regions, including Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 9:15pm, the storm was approximately 330km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, moving north-northeast at 10-20kph, the CWA reported. A sea warning had already been issued at 8:30am yesterday. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 83kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, according to the CWA. As of 9:30pm last night, Kaohsiung, Tainan,
POWERFUL DETERRENT: Precision fire and dispersed deployment of units would allow Taiwanese artillery to inflict heavy casualties in an invasion, a researcher said The nation’s military has boosted its self-defense capability with the establishment of a new company equipped with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The company, part of the army’s 58th Artillery Command, is Taiwan’s first HIMARS unit. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who presided over the formation ceremony in Taichung on Friday, called the unit a significant addition to the nation’s defensive strength, saying it would help deter adversaries from starting a war. The unit is made up of top-performing soldiers who received training in the US, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The HIMARS can be equipped with
UNILATERAL: The move from China’s aviation authority comes despite a previous 2015 agreement that any changes to flight paths would be done by consensus The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday slammed Beijing for arbitrarily opening the M503 flight route’s W121 connecting path, saying that such unilateral conduct disrespected the consensus between both sides and could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. The condemnation came after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier yesterday announced it “has activated the W121 connecting path of the M503 flight route,” meaning that west-to-east flights are now permitted along the path. The newly activated west-to-east route is intended to “alleviate the pressure caused by the increase of flights,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
STRONG WINDS: Without the Central Mountain Range as a shield, people should be ready for high-speed winds, CWA weather forecaster Liu Yu-chi said Danas was yesterday upgraded to a typhoon and could grow stronger as it moves closely along the nation’s west coastline, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Hsinchu and Chiayi cities, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Nantou, Chiayi, Penghu and Pingtung counties have canceled work and school today. Work and school in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Yilan, Taitung, Hualien, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties would continue as usual, although offices and schools would be closed in Taoyuan’s Luju (蘆竹), Dayuan (大園), Guangyin (觀音) and Sinwu (新屋) districts. As of 5pm yesterday, the typhoon’s
RSS